Yup, nothing to say, so up goes another picture of the kid.

Mom thought it would be funny to feed her some berries.

...gee, do you think Ella's happy?

It's already been a week?

Not sure what to write, but should put something. Why not a couple pictures?

Ella's popular so long as she has snacks...

Ella this morning, looking good...

Ella in late afternoon, not looking so good...but still cute (mom says)

Like Watching the SuperBowl (or a Train Wreck)


Either way, it's damned exciting.
Of course, I'm talking neither about the SuperBowl nor a train wreck; I'm talking about the mid-term elections, if you'll pardon the metaphor.
("It's not a metaphor. It's a simile, to be precise." -extremely obscure movie quote)

Right Now (14:30 UTC 8/11/06) the vote count isn't final. And who controls the Senate is unknown.
Of the 2 chambers, the House is now decidedly Blue. The Senate is still undecided. The Reds had it, the Blues wanted it. The Blues needed to take 6 seats from the Reds.
So far, the Blues got 4 out of 6. That leaves 2 seats to go.

Even more gripping is the fact it's all about gaining the majority. But how many makes a majority? Depends on the color. For Blues, it's simple: they need those 2 seats. For Reds, however, it only takes 1 more seat. If the Reds keep so much as 1 of the 2 remaining seats up for grabs, all winnings thus far are for naught: Reds win.
If both available seats go Blue, Blues win.

For the Blues to win all 6 seats needed to take Senate control is...well, as Blue Senator Chuck Schumer ranks it: "It is like pulling a straight flush." Time will tell, but so far, it's looking like only a fraction of 1% of votes, in both undecided states (Virginia & Montana), is all that lies between a Red or Blue Senate. Yup, like I said, damned exciting.

Oh, and another 'contest': to whomever first correctly identifies the movie mentioned above, we'll send some Czech version of a doorprize. Good luck.

First Snow!

According to Czech folklore, St. Martin arrives on a white horse in early November, bringing the first snow with him. November 11 is the actual St. Martin's day, but our first snow arrived November 3. Here's a view of our courtyard from Ella's bedroom window.



And so reality settles in...winter is here. And so we must resign ourselves to hats, gloves, scarves, boots, snow pants and jackets. Here's Ella in her cozy fleece suit, ready to brave the cold with a trip to the playground.



And here she is wearing her new (to her) Winnie the Pooh boots!



It's funny! I find myself getting caught up in the fear of the cold Czech winter. Hanging around with South Africans (who never feel it below 18C) and Brits (who never feel it below freezing) does this to me. Then I have to stop and think. The Czechs say it can get as cold as -10C. Last winter was very bad and they had a few days where it was -20C. And sometimes, it even snows in Prague! "I hail from Canada, the Great White North!" I have to remind myself. Even my last few years in New Hampshire saw temperatures colder than this...certainly for longer stretches...and we certainly got our share of snow. I must remain calm.

Even with all this talk of winter, Ella and I still joined our friends Ali and Dylan today on a long walk to the river and back. Feeding the ducks and swans was the highlight. Actually, Ella and Dylan ate the bread while Ali and I fed the birds!





The baby wakes.
Maylia

Karlštejn Hrad...we finally started exploring the Czech Republic outside of Prague.

Even though they were calling for bad weather, we decided it must be done! We had to leave the city! Sunday we took a train to Karlštejn. Only about 30 km from Prague, we felt a world away. It turned out to be a lovely autumn day and coming late in the season meant fewer crowds at this tourist hot-spot. We opted not to do the interior tour and to instead enjoy the beautiful castle grounds.

Here are some photos of Charles IV's 14th Century summer home and treasury...






Here's a view of typical Czech countryside as seen from the train (at least it's typical of what we've seen so far!)...


And here is our very modern train and the less modern (but very quaint) station...




Stay tuned for more adventures!
Maylia